Since January, I've worked closely with a number of retired Army guys who are using their MGIB benefits to take classes. Some, due to the nature and severity of their injuries, are taking classes online (students with PTSD and TBI may feel more secure at home, in a familiar place, than out on a bustling campus).
In the US, though, where we're busy widening the income-based gap of people who can afford technology and those who can't, how do we talk about technologically-based education?
Susan Crawford did a great piece on Bill Moyers about this "telecommunications divide," and since I live in an area that only got broadband access three years ago (and one of my students lives in an area with no broadband access at all) I often feel like our students are lost in that divide.
AT&T is our primary service provider, and back in 2006 when they made all sorts of promises to expand service, I was still calling monthly to register my indignation about their inability to serve my rural community, 30 minutes East of Land Between the Lakes. In my community, with our proximity to Fort Campbell, we have a large number of active duty and retired military. In Christian County, where I work, we have even more.
I'm working with one student in particular. We'll call him Roger. Roger has a moderate TBI and he's looking to complete a degree that will improve his chances of getting work as a contractor. Some of the courses he needs are available online, which would save him a great deal of money in gas - a big deal, since Roger started the semester homeless and living out of his van in the parking lot of the local Salvation Army shelter, and he's still waiting on his VA check. Roger's TBI means that it's very hard for him to concentrate in busy situations, his ability to cope with new information and distractions is quite low. When Roger is in a new space, he frequently gets agitated and can become combative - so being in a public space (McDonalds, etc) isn't a real option for him to work on homework.
Being able to work in a self-directed, quiet, and low-distraction environment might be good for his educational achievement, but we'll have a hard time finding out, since our rates for high speed internet service run around $50/month. Regular 2G wireless coverage and occasional 3G coverage is available in his area, so a cellular access point probably wouldn't work, as it'd be fairly slow for taking online classes.
So, I come to you, my kos-family. Do any of you know of subsidized, low cost, or free internet service available to veterans?